Exploring natural history one itsy bitsy spider at a time...
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Monday, November 26, 2012
Pretty Seeds
Leave your dead flowers and dried seeds all winter long! They're beautiful, they provide shelter for wildlife, and they feed the birds!
Coneflower
Phlox
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Riding on the York Rail Trail
November 23
22 mile bike ride starting at Hanover Junction Train Station, York County, PA.
Hanover Junction Train Station has a museum, restrooms, parking lot, picnic tables and Penn State Extension Master Gardener's garden.
Trail runs next to the train tracks heading south towards Maryland. The trail winds past streams; wetlands; a wildlife sanctuary; houses; an ice cream shop and antique store; farms with horses, sheep and chickens; and forest. Some areas are overrun with Japanese Honeysuckle, Norway Maples, and Mile-a-Minute. Some areas have beautiful rock cliffs with ferns and Virginia pines.
Maryland line complete with a map of the trail going both directions and picnic tables.
At the Mason Dixon Line!
From Hanover Junction it's 11 miles to the Mason Dixon Line and 11 miles back to the truck!
Bird sightings:
Bald Eagle, Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures, Red-tailed Hawk, Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Cardinals, Great Blue Heron, Carolina Wren, Dark-eyed Juncos, Eastern Bluebirds, and Bluejays.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Seed Elegance
Goldenrod, Solidago
Native perennial with clusters of yellow flowers in late summer.
State flower of Alabama, Kentucky and Nebraska.
Scientific name, Solidago, means to make whole or heal.
Goldenrod has many medicinal uses as a tea including soothing a sore throat, treating urinary tract infections, and reducing allergies.
Contrary to popular belief, goldenrod does not trigger hay fever. Its heavy pollen is carried by insect pollinators, not blown in the wind, like the real culprits, ragweed and many tree flowers.
Native perennial with clusters of yellow flowers in late summer.
State flower of Alabama, Kentucky and Nebraska.
Scientific name, Solidago, means to make whole or heal.
Goldenrod has many medicinal uses as a tea including soothing a sore throat, treating urinary tract infections, and reducing allergies.
Contrary to popular belief, goldenrod does not trigger hay fever. Its heavy pollen is carried by insect pollinators, not blown in the wind, like the real culprits, ragweed and many tree flowers.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Monarch Update!
This year we tagged 100 Monarchs as they passed through Lancaster, PA!
On our top day we tagged 81 monarchs in 2 hours! They came through an abandoned lot so fast we had to put them in a holding container because we couldn't work fast enough!
Holding the butterfly gently near the body. When it's wings are closed it calms down. The tag (sticker) is placed precisely where recommended by Monarch Watch (monarchwatch.org). Then the butterfly is released to continue on its way!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Monarch Butterflies
You’ve probably heard that Monarch butterflies travel all the way to Mexico in the fall. Did you know everyday citizens are tagging the monarchs to help scientists research this magnificent journey? Do you know how to tell a male from a female Monarch or how to spot a Monarch look-alike?
Monarch butterflies have adapted a remarkable and complicated life cycle. Just like many migratory birds, Monarchs complete part of their life stages in the Eastern United States, and part of their life stages in Mexico. Why would they evolve to travel so far?
Monarchs begin to migrate south as soon as the weather starts to get cold, usually in October. In Mexico each year the new generation of Monarchs finds Oyamel Fir Trees to rest on all winter long. In the Spring, they have to return to the Eastern United States (as far North as Canada!) to lay eggs where their larval host plant, milkweed, is plentiful. Here a new crop of caterpillars turns into butterflies and prepares to migrate south once again.
Monarch butterflies have adapted a remarkable and complicated life cycle. Just like many migratory birds, Monarchs complete part of their life stages in the Eastern United States, and part of their life stages in Mexico. Why would they evolve to travel so far?
Monarchs begin to migrate south as soon as the weather starts to get cold, usually in October. In Mexico each year the new generation of Monarchs finds Oyamel Fir Trees to rest on all winter long. In the Spring, they have to return to the Eastern United States (as far North as Canada!) to lay eggs where their larval host plant, milkweed, is plentiful. Here a new crop of caterpillars turns into butterflies and prepares to migrate south once again.
If you’re paying special attention to the butterflies in your yard, attempt to differentiate the Viceroy, a Monarch mimic, from a real Monarch. Monarchs are poisonous to birds because the caterpillars feast on poisonous milkweeds. Their orange and black coloration serves as a warning to predators. Once birds taste one Monarch, they remember that coloration and never go near it again. Other butterfly species take advantage of their fellow butterfly’s defenses by evolving a very similar coloration. A careful observer can tell the difference between a Viceroy and a Monarch butterfly by looking for a black line across the bottom of the lower two wings. If it has a line, it’s a Viceroy. Other orange and black butterflies that are found on the east coast include the Baltimore Checkerspot, the Queen, and the Red Admiral- of which the Queen is also poisonous.
You can follow the migration of Monarch butterflies back to the Eastern United States on the website MonarchWatch.org, where citizens send reports when they spot their first Monarch of the season.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
To Do: Garden Projects
Vertical wood pallet garden!
http://lifeonthebalcony.com/how-to-turn-a-pallet-into-a-garden/
Mini greenhouse with easy open roof!
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